Decorating the future. Young couples' narratives of home decoration.

While possessions and identities as well as home as a consumption domain have been studied excessively in consumer culture research, the context of young couples has been largely neglected in previous research. This study addresses these young couples who are in a unique stage of life that is defined by uncertainty in many aspects of life but high hopes for the future. Home decoration practices and the significance of possessions for young couples are examined through their narratives that range from personal history to future plans. Further, the focus is on the interpretations of culturally transmitted narratives, which shape the informants’ experiences of past and expectations for the future. The study is based on theories about the significance and functions of possessions at home as well as home decoration. The focal previous research introduced are the view of possessions as tool for constructing and maintaining identity and social connections, and a contrasting perspective of liquid attachment to possessions and liquid consumption that strip possessions from any identity-affirming features. This study is qualitative and interpretive. The research context of this study are Finnish, urban heterosexual couples who have moved in together less than five years ago. All informants are under forty years old. The findings are based on the individual, semi-structured interviews of six informants. The study takes part in consumer culture research stream of relationship to possessions and possessions’ significance for constructing and maintaining identity. The findings mostly support the post-modern view of multidimensional relationship to possessions at home, but acknowledge the foothold of the more traditional view on possessions as part of the extended self. Further, this study contributes in the discussion about liquid consumption in two ways: First, by applying the concepts of liquid relationship to possessions and liquid consumption to the group of young adult couples and the domain of home decoration. Second, this study presents culturally transmitted narratives as a link between the reality of liquid consumption and dreams of solid consumption